Woman's wrapper (àdìrẹ ẹlé̩kọ)

Yorùbá , unknown maker's mark

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

Brooklyn Museum photograph

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Object Label

Àdìrẹ is a Yorùbá textile whose patterns are made through resist dyeing. The àdìrẹ technique used to make this wrapper is àdìrẹ ẹlé̩kọ, wherein female artists paint cassava flour paste on fabric, preventing certain areas from soaking in blue indigo dye. This cloth’s name is Olókun, identifiable in part by the motif of a circular “stool” surrounded by “leaves.” As goddess of the sea, Olókun’s domain is the source of wealth, lending the cloth the associated meaning “life is sweet.” Other àdìrẹ employ tie-and-dye techniques (àdìrẹ oníko), where raffia ties hold small stones or seeds in place to cover areas of the fabric during dyeing, resulting in àdìrẹ eléso patterns. One such àdìrẹ oníko was incorporated underneath a panel in the featured egúngún (see photograph).

Caption

Yorùbá , unknown maker's mark. Woman's wrapper (àdìrẹ ẹlé̩kọ), 20th century. Commercial cotton cloth, synthetic indigo dye, 68 5/8 × 78 × 1/16 in. (174.3 × 198.1 × 0.1 cm) mount (when installed): 68 5/8 × 79 1/2 × 3 in. (174.3 × 201.9 × 7.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Frieda and Milton F. Rosenthal, 1990.132.8. No known copyright restrictions

Gallery

Not on view

Collection

Arts of Africa

Title

Woman's wrapper (àdìrẹ ẹlé̩kọ)

Date

20th century

Geography

Place made: Abẹ́òkúta, Nigeria

Medium

Commercial cotton cloth, synthetic indigo dye

Classification

Textile

Dimensions

68 5/8 × 78 × 1/16 in. (174.3 × 198.1 × 0.1 cm) mount (when installed): 68 5/8 × 79 1/2 × 3 in. (174.3 × 201.9 × 7.6 cm)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds given by Frieda and Milton F. Rosenthal

Accession Number

1990.132.8

Rights

No known copyright restrictions

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